noun
1. : a company or association consisting of a number of individuals organized to conduct a business for gain with a joint stock, the shares owned by any member being transferable without the consent of the rest
2. also joint-stock association : a form of partnership differing from the ordinary form of partnership by the transferability of shares (as in a corporation), by the fact that the death of a stockholder does not dissolve the company, and by the fact that the managing of the company is limited to persons specially authorized — compare corporation , limited liability